School Pharmacist Research Articles

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Japanese elementary schools: Current conditions and practices.

BackgroundWater, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) is the foundation for preventing infectious diseases, as the current COVID‐19 pandemic has shown. WASH is essential for school health, yet there have been very few papers published on WASH in Japanese schools. The objective of this review is to describe the current conditions and practices in Japanese elementary schools using an international framework for WASH in schools and identify implications for handwashing promotion in other areas.MethodsThis research was based primarily on a literature review. Information on common WASH practices was also collected through an international workshop attended by school health experts.ResultsThere is a rigorous legal foundation for ensuring the physical infrastructure and quality control of a safe water supply in Japanese schools. Water quality is monitored regularly by Yogo teachers and school pharmacists. Strategic locations and an abundance of water supply infrastructure facilitate handwashing behavior. Hygiene promotion activities by Yogo teachers and student's health committees play a major role in increasing awareness, while health education classes provide minimal but necessary knowledge on handwashing with soap. Flush toilets are the standard, but there is still a demand for improvement of toilet facilities. Children’s participation in daily cleaning of school toilets contributes to students understanding the importance of cleanliness.ConclusionsDrawing from the Japanese example, WASH in schools' interventions are suggested to include laws and policies, a designated teacher, and children’s participation to sustain both infrastructure and hygiene promotion.

Survey on Heated Tobacco Products in Smoking Prevention Education by School Pharmacists

Survey on Heated Tobacco Products in Smoking Prevention Education by School Pharmacists

Acute Drug Poisoning among Adolescents Using Over-the-counter Drugs: Current Status

We discuss the current status of, and possible countermeasures for, acute drug poisoning among adolescents using OTC drugs. In the last 10 years, 36 patients aged <20 years who overdosed on OTC drugs were examined for the type of drug ingested, its active ingredients in cases of lethal dose intake, and the relevant place of purchase. Patients aged <20 years accounted for 30% of all the cases. The ingestion of multi-ingredient common-cold medication was the highest at 23%, and no ingestion of any first-class OTC drugs was observed. Caffeine accounted for 54% of the cases of lethal dose intake. At 80%, the most common method of drug purchase was from drugstores and other OTC vendors. In recent years, the number of adolescents patients who take lethal doses of OTC drugs has been increasing, and new measures are needed to avoid such cases. School pharmacists and vendors play a major role in reducing the incidences of drug poisoning. As drugs can be easily purchased over the counter, increasing the vendors' awareness of the problem throughout society may be the quickest way to reduce the incidences of acute drug poisoning among adolescents.

Implementation and Verification of Tabletop Training Program for Disaster Evacuation Shelter Support for School Pharmacist

In this paper, as a program targeting school pharmacists engaged in health counseling and health guidance at elementary and junior high schools, which are often evacuation centers, we have rebuilt the disaster evacuation shelter support chart program for community pharmacists. As a result of the questionnaire survey, there were seen 4 groups. There were a group that was conscious of shelter support, a group who felt that they did not have aptitude for disaster relief, a group that was conscious of general support and logistical support, and a group that showed a negative attitude towards disaster relief. From this, it was suggested that this training program worked enlighteningly to support affected area by school pharmacists, and at the same time participants themselves could lead to consideration of aptitude for support at the time of disaster.

On the Actual Condition of Medicine Education at Junior High School and the Role Required for School Pharmacists

On the Actual Condition of Medicine Education at Junior High School and the Role Required for School Pharmacists

Enhancing teachers’ medication literacy and teaching through school–pharmacist partnership in Taiwan

Objective: Adolescents in Taiwan generally have a low level of knowledge concerning medications. This study evaluates a school–pharmacist partnership in Taiwan and describes the impact this association has on enhancing teachers’ medication literacy and on their compliance with imparting this information to their students.Method: In 2013, the results from baseline and follow-up self-administered online structured questionnaire surveys received from 358 teachers in intervention primary and middle schools were compared with those received from 452 teachers in comparative primary and middle schools. Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE), regression analyses, and logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the effects.Results: The results indicated that the partnership between schools and pharmacists had significantly enhanced teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and skills concerning correct medication usage and pain medication literacy. In addition, the implementation of the school–pharmacist partnership had also significantly increased teachers’ participation in the teaching of the proper uses of medication and in their implementation of school campaigns.Conclusion: The school–pharmacist partnership had a positive impact on enhancing teachers’ medication literacy and participation in medication teaching in Taiwan.

School Pharmacist and "Methods of Analysis in Health Science".

The major duty of a school pharmacist is to serve as an expert in analysis. School pharmacists must perform regular and thorough assessments based on school environmental health standards. The objectives of the "environmental" component of the pharmacy education model core curriculum include performing analyses corresponding to the regularly checked items of the school environmental health standards. Students of the School of Pharmacy should cultivate their expertise in environmental analysis and environmental health, through practices such as sample collection, analysis operation, and evaluation of test results. As analysis experts, school pharmacists must know the principles and characteristics of analytical methods. The "Methods of Analysis in Health Science" published by the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, provides comprehensive information on regular items to be cheked in the school environmental health standards, and school pharmacists should use this as a guide in their activities.

School Pharmacist/School Environmental Hygienic Activities at School Site.

The "School Health and Safety Act" was enforced in April 2009 in Japan, and "school environmental health standards" were established by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. In Article 24 of the Enforcement Regulations, the duties of the school pharmacist have been clarified; school pharmacists have charged with promoting health activities in schools and carrying out complete and regular checks based on the "school environmental health standards" in order to protect the health of students and staff. In supported of this, the school pharmacist group of Japan Pharmaceutical Association has created and distributed digital video discs (DVDs) on "check methods of school environmental health standards" as support material. We use the DVD to ensure the basic issues that school pharmacists deal with, such as objectives, criteria, and methods for each item to be checked, advice, and post-measures. We conduct various workshops and classes, and set up Q&A committees so that inquiries from members are answered with the help of such activities. In addition, school pharmacists try to improve the knowledge of the school staff on environmental hygiene during their in-service training. They also conduct "drug abuse prevention classes" at school and seek to improve knowledge and recognition of drugs, including "dangerous drugs".

Management for School Environmental Health in Japan.

Some acts such as the Basic Environment Act are aimed at managing environmental health for a productive living environment in Japan. School is not only a place where lessons for a better future are taught but also an environment in which children spend many hours of their day. Therefore, activities involving regular checks are important to maintain and improve the school environment. Article 5 of the School Health and Safety Act states that schools must make plans and carry out regular checks on school environmental health. Article 6 prescribes that the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology establish a "school environmental health standard". This standard involves metrics on the classroom environment (quality of air, illumination, and noise levels), quality of drinking/pool water and so on, and their standard values and evaluation methods. Article 23 prescribes that each school except colleges/universities have a school pharmacist. The school pharmacist plays an important role in maintaining and improving the school's environmental health. However, the current actions taken are not adequate. Therefore, prospects for future activities will be discussed based on the current situations and problems.

School Pharmacists and Methods of Analysis in Health Science: Pharmaceutical Health Science for the Protection of Children's Health

School Pharmacists and Methods of Analysis in Health Science: Pharmaceutical Health Science for the Protection of Children's Health

アドレナリン自己注射薬に関する教育現場での認識調査と学校薬剤師の現状と役割

アドレナリン自己注射薬に関する教育現場での認識調査と学校薬剤師の現状と役割

Developing school–pharmacist partnerships to enhance correct medication use and pain medication literacy in Taiwan

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of the health promoting school (HPS)–community pharmacist partnership program that promotes students’ correct medication use and enhances pain medication literacy in Taiwan. DesignPre- and post-studies and intervention/comparison group comparisons. SettingPrimary and middle schools, along with their communities, in Taiwan. ParticipantsIn 2013, baseline and follow-up self-administered, online surveys were received from 5,373 students enrolled in intervention primary and middle schools and from 4,643 students enrolled in comparison primary and middle schools. Main outcome measureThe level of medication literacy, including correct medication use knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills. ResultsThe development and implementation of the HPS–community pharmacist partnership program in primary and middle schools significantly enhanced students’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills in correct medication use and pain medication literacy (P <0.001). ConclusionThe HPS–community pharmacist partnership had a positive impact on enhancing correct medication use and pain medication literacy in Taiwan.

Effects on Sports College Students of Drug Education by a School Pharmacist

Effects on Sports College Students of Drug Education by a School Pharmacist

Establishment of a “Correct Use of Medicine” Educational Program for Health and Physical Education at Junior High Schools

Under new courses of study, medicine-related content has been incorporated into health and physical education at junior high schools, and classes on the "Correct use of medicine" began as part of this content in 2012. Based on the "School Health and Safety Law" implemented in April 2009, health guidance provided by school physicians, pharmacists, and dentists has also been incorporated. This has raised expectations that educational programs concerning the "Correct use of medicine" could be effectively implemented through cooperation between school pharmacists and health and physical education teachers. In order to clarify current knowledge and awareness regarding the "Correct use of medicine" among students, as well as the guidance provided at schools, we conducted a training workshop for teachers at elementary and junior high schools in Gifu City. Based on the results, we developed a "Correct use of medicine" educational program. We then presented this program in a class with 40 third-year junior high school students on January 31, 2012. It consisted of an introduction (7 min), a development portion (35 min), and a conclusion (8 min). After the class, a question and answer session was held with observers (n=11) and a questionnaire survey, which resulted in high evaluations, was conducted on the students. Comments including concern over the large volume of educational content and the need to raise awareness were heard, but the results of the questionnaire survey showed that many students found the class content useful and interesting.

Guidance for Education on Medicines in School

To promote the education on medicines in school, guidance is, as a rule, to be given in the health education of the Subject, "Health and Physical Education" indicated as a curriculum standard in lower and upper secondary school, and in the health guidance, which carry out in Special Activities and Integrated Studies, etc. Guidance is mainly carried by the teacher for health and physical in health education and school nurse teacher (yogo teacher) in health guidance. In health education we have only limited school hours, and generally use the text book. Some teachers feel resistance to teach medicines because of needs on the special knowledge, however teachers should deal with medicines based on curriculum standard. School pharmacist is a member of school, and has a special knowledge for medicines, and he/she can support teachers as a provider of teaching materials, an adviser, and for a guest teacher. It is important for school pharmacist to understand the contents indicated in curriculum standard and to use glossary to be able to understand for children. In the guidance of health, it is not necessary to teach based on curriculum standard, and it can deal with advanced contents on medicines. However it is important to understand for children what are appropriate contents according to the development stage. To use the packages and instructions for medicines provided at home are good materials for children to have interest the medicines in their guidance. The objectives of education on medicines enable children to cultivate practical abilities for the maintenance and improvement of health.

Suggestion to School Pharmacists to Utilize Absolute Humidity Parameter for Maintaining Air-Conditioning

One of the major roles of a school pharmacist is to maintain adequate air conditioning in the school to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Influenza, the most important infectious disease at school, can be a cause of temporary closure of classes. We ordinarily examine relative humidity (RH), a popular parameter in the pharmaceutical field. However, RH is the ratio of vapor pressure to saturation vapor pressure at the indicated temperature and does not indicate the actual amount of water in the atmosphere. RH is temperature-dependent and varies easily with temperature. The use of absolute humidity (AH) is not common among school pharmacists because calculating AH from the measured temperature is not straightforward. In addition, commercially available humidity meters are usually designed for RH. We surveyed the relationship between climate data and influenza epidemics in Kobe from 2007 to 2012. We found that AH is more closely correlated with the number of patients than RH and that there is an AH threshold at which an influenza outbreak can occur in Kobe: 10 g/m(3). The 2009 epidemic pattern, when influenza A (H1N1) virus spread throughout the country, was irregular and AH did not correlate with the number of patients. Because AH can be easily measured using a computer without the need of any additional instruments, we suggest that school pharmacists utilize AH in combination with temperature as a better parameter for predicting the onset of influenza epidemics. When AH in Kobe decreases to 10 g/m(3), schools should be immediately cautioned.

Survey on Junior High School Student's Attitudes toward Rational Drug Use and the Educational Effect by School Pharmacists

The educational intervention could improve knowledge about rational drug use in the junior high school. Improving knowledge about rational drug use at an early age may be a good way to increase the population's awareness of health, medicines and self-medication. To educate the rational drug use, it is desirable that the school pharmacists participate in this educational program in the junior high school. So we conducted an educational lecture by school pharmacists to promote rational drug use and self-medication in junior high school students. The study compared participant responses before and after a lecture. After the first questionnaire, we lectured the mentioned above to them. Afterward, second questionnaire was conducted. In the second questionnaire, more than 95% of the students understood the contents of the lecture to some extent. After a lecture, students who answered that 'I don't have confidence that I can buy medicines rightly by myself' decreased from 42.7% to 11.7%. And students who answered that 'I don't have confidence that I can use medicines rightly by myself' decreased from 25.2% to 12.6%. It was possible to achieve a favorable modification of attitudes to rational use of medicines in junior high school students. Continuous interventions might allow better effects and could help to fill the gap in health education of the general population.

Surveillance Study on Use of Over-the-Counter Drug and Health Food by School Pharmacist for Grade-schooler, Junior High School Student, and High School Students

In recent years, it is necessary to acquire knowledge not only about medicine but also over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and health food for children, because lowering trend in the age of the health hazard by improper use of health food is reported. Therefore, in order to estimate the extent of use of OTC drugs and health food, the school pharmacists administered a questionnaire to students in grade-school (n=123), junior high school (n=303), and high school (n=115) in Fukuyama city. As a result of the questionnaire survey, surprisingly, the usage ratio of OTC drugs and health food showed the most increase in grade-schooler. The trigger of use of health food is "parents' recommendations" in the lower grades, otherwise the ratio of "use by themselves" was increased in the higher grades. Moreover, a remarkable difference was observed by the kinds of use in students with or without exercise. Interestingly, exercise group expected "physical strength" effects than no exercise group. In addition, the ratio of consultation to the pharmacist at the time of purchase of OTC drugs and health food was low in all grade students. In particular, the ratio of consultation to the pharmacist at the time of purchase of health food was very low in high school students. Therefore, to provide accurate information of medicine and health food for students, the school pharmacist should engage not only in routine work but also in positive guidance about OTC drugs and health food in the future.

A Role and Necessity of a School Pharmacist at the Time of a Disaster

In times of disaster, it is envisaged that many schools will serve as refuges, and it seems important that school pharmacists play their role as co-medical is in such refuges. Here, we investigated the role of school pharmacists as medical caregivers at the time of the Kobe earthquake and elucidated their future necessity by questionnaire intended for pharmacists and nurse-teachers. Although there was no attendance request for the school pharmacist from either school or pharmacist society at the time of the disaster, about 30% of school pharmacists acted voluntarily. Water investigation was the main subject for their activity. In addition, 58% of pharmacists and 82% of nurse-teachers recognized the necessity of the school pharmacist at the time of the disaster. Many of the activities were related to the normal activity as a conventional school pharmacist, although there was a request for mental healthcare to local inhabitants. Surprisingly, 31% of pharmacists considered that school pharmacists might not be of any assistance at the time of a disaster. It might be useful to prepare a manual so that school pharmacist could be active at the time of disasters in the future.

Role of School Pharmacists Inspection of Environment

Role of School Pharmacists Inspection of Environment